Surgical tourniquet cuff for limiting usage to improve safety

Abstract

A surgical tourniquet cuff for limiting usage to improve safety, comprises: an inflatable portion having a length sufficient for encircling a patient's limb at a desired location; cuff connector means communicating pneumatically with the inflatable portion and adapted near an end for connecting to a tourniquet instrument to establish a releasable pneumatic connection; and a cuff usage register located at a predetermined distance from the end of the cuff connector means and adapted for containing a usage amount record indicative of an amount of a predetermined usage of the cuff. The cuff usage register may further contain a usage limit record indicative of a predetermined limit of the predetermined usage of the cuff. The cuff usage register may be further adapted for enabling the cuff usage record and the usage limit record to be read by a tourniquet instrument that is pneumatically connected to the inflatable portion through the cuff connector means.

1. A tourniquet cuff apparatus for limiting usage to improve safety, comprising
 an inflatable portion having a length sufficient for encircling a patient's limb at a desired location, and a stiffener member enclosed therein; 
 a tubular cuff connector attached to the inflatable portion and communicating pneumatically with the inflatable portion and adapted near an outer end thereof for connecting to a tourniquet instrument to establish a releasable pneumatic connection; and 
 a wireless cuff usage register connected to and in contact with the stiffener member and located adjacent to the cuff connector at a predetermined distance from the end of the cuff connector and adapted for containing a usage amount record indicative of an amount of usage of the cuff. 
 
     
     
       2. The apparatus as described in  claim 1  wherein the cuff usage register is adhesively bonded to the stiffener member and further contains a usage limit record indicative of a predetermined limit of usage of the cuff. 
     
     
       3. The tourniquet cuff apparatus as described in  claim 1  further comprising a tourniquet instrument connector with incorporated interface for reading the wireless cuff usage register, wherein the cuff usage register is further adapted for enabling the cuff usage record and the usage limit record to be read by the tourniquet instrument connector interface when that tourniquet instrument connector is pneumatically connected to the cuff connector. 
     
     
       4. The apparatus as described in  claim 3  wherein the tourniquet instrument connector interface has a range limited to substantially the distance between the stiffener member and the outer end of the tubular cuff connector. 
     
     
       5. The apparatus as described in  claim 4  wherein the range is about 10 millimeters. 
     
     
       6. The apparatus as described in  claim 2  wherein the wireless cuff usage register is oriented to surround the inner end of the tubular cuff connector and the predetermined limit of usage is the maximum pressure of inflation. 
     
     
       7. The apparatus as described in  claim 2  and including a tourniquet instrument having means for reading the usage amount record and the usage limit record while the pneumatic connection is established and for producing a usage alert signal if the amount indicated by the usage amount record is not less than the predetermined limit indicated by the usage limit record. 
     
     
       8. The apparatus as described in  claim 1  and including a tourniquet instrument adapted for reading an initial usage amount record indicative of an initial amount of cuff usage upon establishment of the pneumatic connection, for calculating an incremental amount of the cuff usage while the cuff is connected to the tourniquet instrument, and for writing a cumulative usage amount record into the cuff usage register that is indicative of the sum of the initial amount and the incremental amount. 
     
     
       9. The apparatus as described in  claim 2  wherein the predetermined limit of cuff usage is the maximum pressure of inflation and including a tourniquet instrument adapted for reading the usage amount record indicative of a first amount of cuff usage upon connection to the tourniquet cuff, for reading the usage limit record indicative of the predetermined limit and for calculating a second amount of cuff usage while the cuff is connected to the tourniquet instrument, wherein the tourniquet instrument is operable to produce a usage alert signal if the second amount exceeds the predetermined limit. 
     
     
       10. The apparatus as described in  claim 1  wherein the cuff is formed of materials having physical properties that are substantially unchanged at an elevated temperature sufficient to sterilize the cuff by autoclaving. 
     
     
       11. A tourniquet cuff apparatus, comprising
 an inflatable portion having a length sufficient for encircling a patient's limb at a desired location; 
 a stiffener member inside the inflatable portion and including an aperture formed through the stiffener member; 
 a wireless cuff usage register attached to and contacting the stiffener member inside the inflatable portion and having an aperture formed therethrough that is concentric with the aperture in the attached stiffener member; 
 a tubular cuff connector extending through the concentric apertures in the stiffener member and usage register to communicate pneumatically with the interior of the inflatable portion, the connector further adapted for connecting to a tourniquet instrument to establish a releasable pneumatic connection therewith. 
 
     
     
       12. The cuff apparatus of  claim 11  wherein the wireless cuff usage register is adhesively bonded to the stiffener member.